Necktie knot stay



Nov.` 19, 1963 1. D. sNYDER 3,110,902

NECKTIE KNoT STAY Filed Sept. 18, 1961 HHM/M A T TORNEY United States Patent C) 3,110,902, NECKTIE KNOT STAY Ira D. Snyder, 613 S. Lucas Drive, Santa Maria, Calif. Filed Sept. 18, 1961, Ser. No. 138,90@ 4 Claims. (Ci. 2-153) My invention relates to devices for maintaining the knot of a necktie in place and has particular reference to a device insertable in the knot and pulling against the inner and outer fabrics of the tie below the knot.

One of the principal problems of male Wearing apparel is the maintaining of a necktie knot in place. The prevalent four-in-hand tie knot used by nearly all men is a slip knot that tends to slip during .the course of ordinary body meovements that alfect -the collar of the shirt. rl'lhus turning the nec-k, moving the arm, turning the trunk, etc., all affect the collar, causing movement and causing the tie to slip. The -result is that the knot slides downwardly,

creating a gap between the top of the shirt collar and the knot. This gap is generally considered unsightly and constant attention must bel given to pulling the knot back into place.

Some men seek to avoid this slipping by pulling the knot so tightly that friction securely holds the knot. When ities are made of the more attractive, smooth fabrics, the tight knot causes tearing and results in short tie life. Various collar stays have been devised which contact the tie knot, but these have not proved to be satisfactory. Also variousy devices have been devised for attachment to the tie to hold the knot in place. N ne of these have proved to be commercially satisfactory.

I have discovered that a four-in-hand knot may be satisfactorily held in place by pulling downwardly on both the outer fabric of the tie below the knot, and on the inner fabric. The pulling action is opposed by a device bearing upwardly on the tie knot. The inner tie fabric is the one below .the knot that slips in the slip knot and thus determines the position of the knot. The outer fabric is the one that is wrapped `.around the inner one to form the knot. The pull on the outer fabric thus determines the size of the knot and the pullon the inner fabric determines the position of the knot. Thus my device not only keeps a tie knot in place, but additionally keeps the knot from enlarging in size.

It is there-fore a general object of my invention to provide an improved stay for necktie knots.

Another object is to provide a knot stay that will maintain the size of knot and the position of the knot.

A further object is .to provide a stay that pulls downwardly on the knot.

An additional object is to provide a knot stay that has a smooth lbody for easy insertion in the tie knot.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be Iapparent in the following description and claims considered together :with the accompanying drawing, forming an integral part of this application and in which:

FIGURE l is an elevation view of a collar and necktie with -a device embodying the invention inserted in the knot,

FIGURE 2 is a sideview of the tie of FIG. 1 with the collar removed;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the device along the line III-III of FIG. l,

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view along the line IV--IV of FIGURE 2, and v FIGURE 5 is a sectional View along the line V-V of FIGURE 4.

Referring to the dra-wings, there is illustrated the usual shirt collar ll-(i upon which is tied a necktie il, having the usual four-in-hand knot l2. Depending below the knot 35i 19,9% Patented Nov. 19, i963 `ll, is an outer fabric 13 and an inner fabric 14. The knot 12 is 4a slip knot and the position of the inner fabric l/l with respect to the knot determines the position of the knot 12 in the collar it). The outer fabric 13 is wrapped around itself and the inner fabric 14 to form the knot 12 `and the downward pull on the outer fabric 15 determines'the size of the knot 12.

Inserted in the knot 12 and projecting below it is a knot stay i1-6' embodying the invention. This stay 16 includes :a body member 17 terminating in a T -shaped upper portion 18 that ts within the necktie knot 12. I prefer at present to form my body 16 out of two separate 'halves lwhich may be joined together along the dotted line 19 shown in FIGURE 4. The material presently preferred is plastic and this joining may be done by a simple cementing operation.

yFormed in the body member 16 are a pair of bores 2d,

each of which have diametrically opposite enlargements Z2. Disposed in the lolwer part of each bore 2,1 is a tube 23, -which is rflattened on its upper end at 24 which widens the tube transversely until the flattened portion 24 substantially occupies the enlarged portion 22. of the bore. The flattened portion 24 accordingly acts as a stop for downward movement of each tube 23 and further acts to keep each tuhe 23 from rotating in the bore by virtue of contacting the enlargements 2&2. Disposed above the enlarged portion 24 of the :tube 23 is a helical compression spring -26 which is freely positioned in the bore 2l. and need not be guided therein because of the fact that the cylindrical portion of the bore 21 is maintained in the region of the yenlargements 22, as best shown in FIG- URE 5.

Projecting near the bottom from each tube 2,3 is a sharpened claw 27, preferably formed as a part of a helix ZJ?? so that the amount of projection ofthe claw 27 is closely controlled 'by the circular body of the helix 2S. This limited projection of the cla'w 27 limits .the depth of penetration into the tie fabric.

Referring especially to FIGURES l and 2, it 'will be noted that the knot stay 16 is preferably inserted in the knot 12. The T-shaped portion 13 bears against theV top of the knot. The user manually pushes upwardly both tubes 23 compressing the springs 26. Thereupon the claw 27 of each tube 23 is inserted in the inner tie fabric 14 and the outer tie fabric 13. The compression springs 26 exert a continuous downward pull oneach fabric. The downward pull on fabric 14 reacting against the knot 12 maintains the knot 12 in its position in the collar lil. The downward pull on the outer fabric 13 maintains the size of the knot so that it will not enlarge as is often the case with some types of necktie fabric.

The presently preferred construction of gluing two moldedv plastic halves together permits the insertion of the tubes 23 and the compression springs 26. prior to the gluing operation and thereafter' they are permanently cemented into place. past the enlargements Z2 guides the compression springs in this area resulting in a very simple mechanical structure.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art, however, that different types of constructions can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of my invention. Accordingly, I include within the scope of the following claims all such variations and modifications.

I claim:

l. A tie stay for use with a four-in-hand necktie knot wherein an outer fabric controls the size of the knot and aninner fabriccontrols the position of the knot, com prising: a body member having an :upper portion to fbear against the knot; a pair of generally parallel `slide members mounted for reciprocation on said body member; resilient means independently urging said slide members The continuation of the bore 2:1

away from said upper part of the body member; fabric engaging means mounted on one slide member to engage the inner fabric; and fabric engaging means mounted on the other slide member to engage `the outer fabric whereby sm`d body member may be inserted between the inner and outer fabrics and the slides engage respectively the inner and outer fabrics pulling them away from the knot so that the position and size of the knot remains stationary.

2. A necktie knot stay as dened in claim l wherein the upper portion of the body member is T-shaped for better Contact with the upper inside part of the tie knot.

3. A necktie knot stay as defined in claim l wherein the parallel slide members reciprocate inside the body member.

4. A tie stay for use with a four-in-hand necktie knot wherein an outer fabric is wound around an inner fabric and pulling on the outer fabric determines the size of the knot, and the sliding of the inner fabric determines the position of the knot, comprising: a vertically elongated smooth body member having a T-shaped .upper end and .4 a pair of generally parallel vertical bores in the lower end thereof, each bore having a portion inter-mediate its ends enlarged on diametrically opposite sides; a helical cornpression spring disposed in the upper end of each bore; a tubular slide disposed in the lower portion of each bore and each having its upper end flattened to engage -the bore enlargements and the lower end of the respective helical spring and each slide projecting downwardly `from the lower end of the body member; and a fabric engaging ciaw secured to the lower end of each slide on diametrically opposite sides of the slides, Ithe T-shaped -upper end bearingagainst the top of the tie knot when inserted in the knot and reacting against the helical springs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS 1,478,064 Scholler Dec. 18, 1923 2,131,311 Cirelli Sept. 27, 1933 2,501,046 Gugino Mar. 21, i950 2,502,297 West Mar. 28, 1950 

1. A TIE STAY FOR USE WITH A FOUR-IN-HAND NECKTIE KNOT WHEREIN AN OUTER FABRIC CONTROLS THE SIZE OF THE KNOT AND AN INNER FABRIC CONTROLS THE POSITION OF THE KNOT, COMPRISING: A BODY MEMBER HAVING AN UPPER PORTION TO BEAR AGAINST THE KNOT; A PAIR OF GENERALLY PARALLEL SLIDE MEMBERS MOUNTED FOR RECIPROCATION ON SAID BODY MEMBER; RESILIENT MEANS INDEPENDENTLY URGING SAID SLIDE MEMBERS AWAY FROM SAID UPPER PART OF THE BODY MEMBER; FABRIC ENGAGING MEANS MOUNTED ON ONE SLIDE MEMBER TO ENGAGE THE INNER FABRIC; AND FABRIC ENGAGING MEANS MOUNTED ON THE OTHER SLIDE MEMBER TO ENGAGE THE OUTER FABRIC WHEREBY SAID BODY MEMBER MAY BE INSERTED BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER FABRICS AND THE SLIDES ENGAGE RESPECTIVELY THE INNER AND OUTER FABRICS PULLING THEM AWAY FROM THE KNOT SO THAT THE POSITION AND SIZE OF THE KNOT REMAINS STATIONARY. 